The stylistics of the Russian language is one of the sections of Russian linguistics. This article will be devoted to a brief review of this science. The material also discusses the process of development of this branch of linguistics from its inception to the present.
At the junction of two sciences
The stylistics of the Russian language as a science is an intermediate link between rhetoric and linguistics. And, accordingly, it includes rethought achievements of both branches of knowledge. Therefore, speaking about the historical process of development of this discipline, it is necessary to say a few words that the first prerequisites for its formation were laid back in the ancient world.
So, the most prominent thinker and public figure of Ancient Greece Aristotle and some of his students, in addition to their philosophical works, are also known as the founders of rhetoric schools, where they taught their students the basics of public speaking, including the linguistic side of this issue.
It is worth saying that in addition to philology, they also taught their wards acting and the ability to maneuver in voice.
As for ideas that, having arisen in antiquity, had an impact on the style of the modern Russian language, among them, of course, it is necessary to mention the theory of speech styles, as well as ideas about the means of expression.
Also in Ancient Greece and Rome, the first literary works of such genres existing to this day as theatrical plays (tragedy, comedy, and so on) were created. And accordingly, the first mention of the structure of literary literary works can also be found in the writings of scientists of that time.
Ancient Greek philosophers first introduced into scientific use such concepts as the preface, exposition, plot development, denouement, and so on.
Thus, we can say that it was in ancient times that scientists became interested in three main problems that, many centuries later, the stylistics of the Russian literary language began to consider, namely: the expressive capabilities of individual lexical units (words), speech styles, text structure.
Ancient Greek philosophers were the first to use such terms as metaphor, epithet, synecdoch, hyperbole and so on.
It is these issues that the section of the Russian language stylistics deals with, which is called the "style of speech parts."
Subsequently, the outstanding domestic linguist Vinogradov said that this science should be divided into several separate areas. One subsection was to be called the literary style of the Russian language, and the other - linguistic. The first of them, in his opinion, should have been dealt with by means of stylistic expressiveness, while the second he assigned the role of researching various styles of speech.
Speech in various life situations
The ancient Greek doctrine of the three styles laid the foundation for the formation of science, which began to bear the name of functional stylistics (the Russian language in our country).
This name itself also has Greek roots. And in literal translation it means something like “the science of tools for writing,” since feathers for the depiction of letters on clay tablets were called styles in the ancient world.
In the writings of ancient philosophers, three types of speech were mentioned: high, medium and low. Subsequently, studying the treatises of ancient sages, the great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov applied this system to the study of the practical stylistics of the Russian language.
He also divided the whole variety of options for organizing speech into three groups. His article on the benefits of reading spiritual works contains references to three calm areas: high, medium and low, as well as in which situation each of them should be used.
In the style of the modern Russian language, there are many theories, each of which gives its own vision of the problem of classification of styles. However, for the most part, all these works contain references to five varieties of speech.
So, according to the style of speech of the Russian language, we can distinguish the following styles:
- Scientific.
- Formal business.
- Publicistic.
- Literary.
- Colloquial.
In different sources, these names may vary, but the essence of the classification remains the same. This article will examine the essence of each of these speech styles.
Do not mix these concepts
In the style of the Russian language, along with the concepts of styles, there are also types of speech. How do they differ from each other?
The first few words have already been said in this article. The latter characterize the text in terms of the purpose of the utterance. According to this criterion, speech can be a narrative, description or reasoning. Therefore, do not mix them with the concept of styles that determine the conditions for the existence of a particular text. So, for example, the narrative as a form of speech can be used both in the official business style (for example, when compiling an explanatory note), and in a literary work, which is characterized by artistic language.
Classification
As for styles, some linguists say that we can talk about two of their varieties, which can be divided, in turn, into 5 of the above subgroups.
So, what kind of two groups are we talking about in the style of the Russian language?
Two large varieties are literary and non-literary styles. The first includes: artistic, journalistic, official business and scientific. Non-literary is the colloquial subtype.
High style
Next, we will talk about the art style. For works in which it is most often used, a high emotionality of the story is characteristic, as well as a rich imagery. Therefore, in the language of these artistic creations there are many words used in a figurative meaning. This phenomenon in the style was called "trop". There are about a dozen different lexical means of expression, which include metaphor, epithet, hyperbole, synecdoch, oxymoron, and so on.
At the syntactic level, too, there are methods that contribute to the creation of an artistic image, as well as giving the text certain rhythmic characteristics. Many types of repetitions are known, such as anaphora and epiphora.
Also, this style is the most capacious in terms of the possibility of incorporating elements characteristic of other types of speech into it. So, for the language of a literary character, a conversational style may be inherent.
Formal or formal style
It is most often found in various documents that are clearly regulated and structure. Such papers are characterized by the use of various types of cliches, traditionally used speech turns ("we, the undersigned ...", "from all of the above we can conclude ..." and so on).
Also, for such documents, ready-made forms with missing actual data are often used, which are filled in accordance with certain circumstances. Therefore, the language of such papers is not colorful, verbose, and so on. On the contrary, one of the criteria for a professionally prepared act is its brevity and conciseness.
As a rule, elements of this style are extremely rare in literary works. However, in the creations of modern authors, stylized extracts from various official papers are still sometimes found. In such cases, a similar style is appropriate on the pages of fiction.
Language of Scientific Publications
As an example of a text characterized by a scientific style, one can cite such a clearly regulated opus as graduation qualification work, or, in colloquial language, a graduation thesis.
In manuals on the practical stylistics of the Russian language, this type of speech is usually characterized as logically structured, adhering to a certain structure. As a rule, in such works there is a mandatory numbering of their sections, and even such minor, at first glance, features as the use of Latin or Arabic numbers are stipulated.
At the lexical level, these scientific works are characterized by an abundance of specialized terms, as well as the use of some cliches ("from this we can conclude ...", "during the consideration of this problem we came to the conclusion ..." and so on).
Friendly conversation
Many mistakenly believe that the use of the so-called vernaculars and colloquial vocabulary is most typical for the conversational style of speech. However, the authors of manuals on the practical stylistics of the modern Russian language argue that this is not entirely true. Most of the words in such texts still belong to the vocabulary of the general variety, that is, not limited to any particular style. Spoken and vernacular expressions in everyday conversations are contained in the amount of 5-15 percent.
Some mistakenly believe that the conversational style of speech exists only in conditions when information is transmitted using a human voice.
However, manuals on the style of the Russian language and the culture of speech often mention that in this way information related to the field of scientific knowledge can also be voiced. This means that such a message is characterized by an appropriate style.
Individual characteristics
In addition to the typical styles mentioned in the previous chapters of this article, there is also the concept of the individual characteristics of the speech of each particular person. Linguists say that there are certain characteristics inherent in one or another group of people.
For example, representatives of the intelligentsia, as a rule, can be distinguished by the long sentences that they use in their conversation, as well as by their relatively high vocabulary.
Each age group has individual characteristics.
A culture of speech
This concept began to be often used in our country after the October Revolution, when large strata of the population, originating from the peasantry and workers, were given the opportunity to participate in the political life of the state and occupy leading positions in production and other enterprises.
Accordingly, there was a need not only to provide these people with various professional knowledge necessary for the implementation of their activities, but also to increase their literacy. Many scientists, including Vinogradov, have developed their own methods of teaching the culture of speech and the Russian language.
Language purity
This problem again gained relevance in the perestroika years, because at that time, due to the opening of borders, many foreign words began to penetrate into the Russian language, most of which were English-speaking.
To enhance speech culture, the eminent philologist Rosenthal created a textbook with exercises on the stylistics of the Russian language. Many educators say that this manual is the best among similar books.
One of the fundamental works of this area is also the book "Essays on the style of the Russian language", written by Gvozdev. In it, the scientist considers the issue of stylistic norms, purity of speech and much more.
Conclusion
This article examined the question of what is the style of the Russian language, provides information on the most important scientific works in this area. Also in this material a brief history of the formation and development of this industry is presented.
By studying the style of the Russian language, a person can significantly increase the level of proficiency in oral and written speech. The need for this was spoken by many prominent writers, including Maxim Gorky. He is known to compare language with weapons.